Discretionary appointment of attorney ad litem
Ark. Code § 9-35-311(c)(1) requires the appointment of an attorney ad litem “when an dependency-neglect petition is filed or when an emergency ex parte order is entered in a dependency-neglect case, whichever occurs earlier.” Ark. Code § 9-35-311(c)(1). [1]
However, it makes no mention of appointment in termination of parental rights matters (unlike sections relating to the parents’ right to counsel. See Ark. Stat. § 9-35-311(e)( 1)(E). But subsection (c)(2) states, “The court may appoint an attorney ad litem to represent the best interest of a juvenile involved in any case before the court and shall consider the juvenile’s best interest in determining whether to appoint an attorney ad litem.” Accordingly, we have classified the right to counsel for children in termination of parental rights matters as discretionary. We also consider appointment to be qualified, because the attorney represents the child’s best interest as opposed to being client-directed.
